GREAT DICTATOR (1940)

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Positive Experience/Entertaining? This is a truly impressive film. I had always heard good things about this movie, but the film largely does live up to the hype.


Technically any good? While I've never been a fan of comedians speaking gibberish in a way that it both sounds fun and sounds like another language, the film makes up for this in spades. To be honest, I did find myself laughing at the gibber-speak, but still felt like it wouldn't be done in a comedy, today.

The acting was a solid as you'd expect--that is to say, not great, but perfectly reasonable, for sure. The story is very solid, following a sort of "prince and pauper" vibe as silent movie comic actor/director/auteur Charlie Chaplin plays both the prince (a very Hitler-esque dictator) and the pauper (a Jewish barber). The setup is clearly absurd, but entirely brilliant. This is seriously amazing film making.


How did it leave me feeling? Seriously moved--there's a wonderful speech at the end that nearly brought tears to my eyes--it was disturbingly resonant in today's war-filled culture. I could not believe that something from sixty-eight years ago could still be true--and since it's about war and profit, how depressing is that? VERY.

Good on you, Mr. Chaplin! It's a shame you're dead. You'd be wishing you were, anyway. :(


Final Rating? GSN - Go See Now--this is a cinema classic for a reason. It's also a perfect double feature with To Be Or Not To Be. TheWife and I both agreed that George W. Bush should be forced to listen to Chaplin's big speech every morning before breakfast.

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Orignal From: GREAT DICTATOR (1940)